Generator installation in Beaverton, OR

Backup power is the project Beaverton homeowners think about for exactly three days after every ice storm, then shelve until the next one. The honest version is smaller than most people expect: the generator itself is a purchase, and the part that makes it useful, the inlet, the transfer equipment, and the panel wiring, is a generator installation job with a defined scope and a clear price.

This city has a particular reason to care. A lot of Beaverton households now earn their living from a home office. When the grid drops, the outage is not an inconvenience, it is a lost workday. A generator that carries the office circuits, the refrigerator, and the furnace fan changes what a storm costs you.

Three ways to back up a Beaverton home

There are three rungs on the backup-power ladder, and we install all of them. The budget path is a portable generator paired with a panel inlet and an interlock kit, which lets you feed the circuits you choose through one safe connection instead of running cords through a window. The middle rung is a portable unit feeding a manual transfer switch that carries a dedicated set of essential circuits. The top rung is a whole-home standby generator with an automatic transfer switch that starts itself when the power drops.

The electrical work for the portable options, meaning the inlet or transfer switch, the wiring, and the permit, runs $800 to $2,500. The portable generator itself is a purchase you make, typically $500 to $2,500 depending on size. A whole-home standby system runs $6,000 to $15,000 or more installed. Our generator cost guide breaks down what moves each number.

Will your panel take a transfer switch?

Beaverton's housing splits around its late-1980s median, and the older half is where the panel question shows up. Transfer equipment lands on your service panel, so a pre-1980 home still running its original 100-amp service, or a panel already out of breaker space, may need a panel upgrade before a standby generator makes sense. We check that first, not mid-project, and the Beaverton panel upgrade page covers what that job involves. The newer homes rarely hit this; there the transfer equipment usually drops straight in.

Permits run through Beaverton's own system

Oregon requires an electrical permit and inspection for transfer switches and standby installations, and Beaverton handles its own through the City of Beaverton Building Division. We pull that city permit and see the work through inspection, so your backup power is documented, which is exactly what an insurer or a future buyer wants to see.

Standby units, the gas side, and the first visit

A standby generator also needs a fuel supply, usually a natural gas or propane connection. We handle the electrical side, the automatic transfer switch, the wiring, and any panel work, and we coordinate the gas connection with the right trade so you are not managing two contractors yourself. We install all major brands and size the unit to the loads you actually want covered, not the biggest thing on the truck.

Smiley Electric is licensed, bonded, and insured, Oregon CCB #227116, owned by Joshua Smiley, a Master Electrician with more than 20 years in the trade. If you want a number before anyone rolls out, ballpark quotes are free by phone or from photos of your panel, and the on-site assessment for a generator project is free as well.